


Birthday Boy

by Hayleythewriter



Category: The Dark Artifices Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: A little bit of angst, Ain't no party like a herondale party, Family Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Kit turns seventeen, M/M, Tessa and Jem are parents, Ty and Kit reunite, dad jem, dad julian, it's all good though, one big shadowhunter family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-02
Updated: 2019-01-02
Packaged: 2019-10-02 17:37:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17268470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hayleythewriter/pseuds/Hayleythewriter
Summary: Kit is like a son to Tessa and Jem, and so they decide to make his birthday extra special.Kit thinks he's getting a surprise party, but that doesn't mean he's prepared for the surprises in store.





	Birthday Boy

**Author's Note:**

> I'm thinking about writing more (possibly) but this is really supposed to be a one shot. I had so much fun writing these characters!

Kit didn’t consider himself a detective. He just wasn’t Poirot, Hardy boy, or Sherlock material. He wasn’t even cut out to be Watson. However, tonight, Kit had slowly but surely collected enough clues to announce with no doubt—

“I know you’ve got something else planned for my birthday,” Kit closed the trunk of the car. 

They’d just returned from a nice dinner in London. Jem looked down on him with a careful blank expression and a diaper bag slung on his shoulder. Tessa was still unbuckling Liam from his car seat, but once she had the two year old in her arms she also looked toward Kit. Face blank. Too blank. 

Kit folded his arms, “Don’t try and deny it. Something is waiting for me in the house. So, what is it? A surprise party?” 

“I have no idea what you could be referring to.” Jem lied, like a liar. 

Kit smirked, “You two have gotten sloppy in your old age. The clues are everywhere. First of all, you didn’t lock the front door when we left.” 

Tessa and Jem shared a glance. “I thought Jem was going to lock it,” Tessa said quickly. 

“and I assumed Tessa—” 

“Second of all,” Kit loudly continued, “You put Liam down for two naps this morning. You only do that if you know he’s going to stay up late.” 

“He didn’t sleep well last night—” Tessa began. 

“We’re trying out a new sleep schedule—” Jem said at the same time. 

Kit walked toward the front door, with Jem, Tessa, and a smiling Liam right on his tail. 

“Third of all,” Kit licked his pointer finger and raised it up, “there’s a cold wind blowing from the southeast, with a warm front quickly approaching due North. This phenomenon can only mean Magnus Bane is nearby.” 

Tessa and Jem stared at each other. Jem raised his eyebrows as Tessa furrowed hers. 

Kit laughed, “Nah, I’m just kidding, Magnus texted Tessa while she was in the bathroom and Jem was busy with the check. I saw the notification.” 

The four reached the front porch. Kit rushed forward and put a hand on the doorknob. He looked over his shoulder at Tessa and Jem, who were trying not to smile, and Liam, who shoved his hand in his mouth. The three people who, over these last two years, had become the greatest family he’s ever had. Kit grinned. 

“I appreciate the effort guys, I really do. But the jig is up. So, what sort of party should I be expecting? Wait, let me use my detective training. What sort of party would Jem and Tessa plan?” he thought for a moment, “Is Magnus in there with a pile of books and four cups of tea?” Kit’s eyes gleamed, “No—Decaf tea. It’s obviously much too late for any other kind. There’s probably some sugar free cake involved— although Magnus is here, so maybe he snuck in some chocolate.” 

Jem had a sly smile, “It seems we did manage to keep one surprise.” 

Kit pushed open the door. The lights flicked on, and a huge group of party goers screamed, “SURPRISE!” There were balloons, streamers, and a giant baby blue banner reading ‘It’s a boy’. Though it was originally designed for a gender reveal party, someone had scribbled ‘birthday’ in black sharpie, so it now read ‘It’s a birthday boy’. 

“Jace planned the party,” Jem laughed, and gave Kit a light pat on the shoulder. 

Kit couldn’t move. He couldn’t breathe. 

Everyone, people he knew, and people he didn’t, was here. Clary, Jace. Emma Carstairs. Julian Blackthorn. They looked older, sure, but a familiar rush of memories slammed into Kit. Flashes of the past were tearing into him, as well as the feelings and pain he’d tried so hard to leave behind. He looked away, but nowhere was safe. Dru Blackthorn. Tavy Blackthorn. 

Ty Blackthorn. Ty. Ty was there, in his living room. Ty was here. 

Next to him, the spectral form of Livvy Blackthorn floated with a smile. 

Finally, Kit’s inherent Shadowhunter instincts seized control of his body. He spun around and sprinted out of the house. 

The huge crowd of people were completely silent. Emma pulled at her party popper, sending a small burst of confetti into the air. 

“Well, he seemed surprised,” said Emma. 

“Is he okay?” Isabelle asked, and shared a worried look with Clary. 

“He looked like he saw a ghost,” Magnus said, glancing at Ty. 

Livvy, without glancing at Ty, floated out the door after Kit. 

Ty stepped forward, “Wait! Don’t go!” 

Julian moved toward his brother, “Ty, he’s already—” 

As soon as Livvy was outside, Ty sprinted out the door. Several partygoers began to swap theories under their breath. 

“He looked scared,” Alec said. “I think something’s wrong.” 

“It was probably the décor,” Magnus poked at a bright yellow balloon with a frown. 

Tessa walked further into the room, “This is our fault. We thought that Kit would want company—” 

Jem stepped up and wrapped an arm around his wife, “but we should have known this would overwhelm him.” 

“Well, it’s certainly not my fault,” Jace broke away from the crowd, as Clary rolled her eyes, “This party is great. There’s rainbow balloons. And we have one chocolate fountain— oh wait, did I say one, I meant two. _Two._ ” 

Magnus patted Jace’s shoulder half heartedly, before leaning toward Tessa and Jem. 

“I know this is a little soon, but I just wanted to offer my services for your future party needs. I’ve planned quite a few parties in my time, and the guest of honor has never once ran away, terrified.” 

Tessa raised an eyebrow, “What about Ragnor’s birthday party of 1943?” 

“Yes,” Ragnor shouted from the snack table, “What about Ragnor’s birthday party of 1943, _Magnus?_ ” 

“You ran away in disgust, not terror,” Magnus shot back, “and I learned my lesson from that party. Now I only work with trained monkeys.” 

Dru, Emma, and Julian were standing by the window, looking out into the night. Ty and Kit were nowhere to be seen. 

“I thought Kit wanted to see us,” Dru scowled. “You said he wrote you.” 

“He did,” said Emma. 

“And he said he wanted to see us?” Dru asked. 

Emma glanced to the side, “Well, not in so many words. But it was implied. Between the lines. If you really squinted.” 

“I don’t even get it. He’s the one who should be apologizing to us,” Dru said, suddenly upset. “We were friends. And he’s the one who just ran away like— like he did right now. Like he doesn’t care about us.” 

Julian stared out the window. He could see himself half reflected in the glass. “Kit is still our friend. Everyone handles grief in different ways.” 

“It’s been two years,” Dru muttered. 

Julian met her gaze, “And at different paces. None of us know what Kit has been through, or how he feels now. But we know that he’s a good guy, a good Shadowhunter, and when he’s ready, a good friend. We shouldn’t push him.” 

“Oh, is that what Ty is doing now? _Not pushing him?_ ” 

Emma and Julian both turned toward the window. Still no sign of either boy. 

Emma grabbed the sleeve of Julian’s sweater, “We should go after them.” 

-

Kit stopped running when he got to the edge of their property, in the middle of the apple tree orchard. He wasn’t tired or out of breath, but he stopped at the sight of the familiar white fence. 

He had no where else to go. Any ally or friend he might have was back inside his house. He was pretty sure he even caught sight of Church in their kitchen this morning. 

What a wonderful reminder on his seventeenth birthday. He was completely alone. 

“Long time no see,” Livvy floated several feet behind him. Kit closed his eyes and didn’t turn around. Maybe if he ignored her, she’d float away. How did this ghost thing work, anyway? Would she get tired and disappear if she stayed for too long? 

Kit opened his eyes and found himself face to face with her, their noses only an inch apart. 

“Boo,” Livvy grinned. 

Kit jumped back and ran a hand down the front of his sweater. “Jesus. What are you doing here?” 

“Jace invited me.” 

Kit gave her a look. Livvy rolled her eyes and floated another foot up. Probably just so she could look down on him from a better angle. 

“I wanted to be here when you and Ty reunited.” She saw something cross his face when she said Ty’s name. Something like anxiety. “And to make the both of you stop being idiots about this whole thing.” 

“What whole thing? The necromancy?” Kit asked, exasperated. 

“Not the necromancy,” she said, with a knowing look that did not sit well with him, at all. 

Another memory slapped Kit across the face. 

_I love you, Ty. I love you._

“Livvy, wait—” Ty entered the small clearing. Kit turned around at the sound of his voice. That was a stupid move, because now he had to look at him. 

He’d grown taller, his shoulders broad, built more like Julian than Mark. His inky black hair was the longest Kit had ever seen it, and soft strands curled around his ears, with one curl landing perfectly on his forehead. 

He was looking at Kit. Directly. And Kit couldn’t look away. 

Kit’s mind was filled with fireworks, spelling out the word ‘beautiful’ in bright bursts. In a moment, the display was over, and the sparks fell. Now, his mind was on fire. Tiny versions of Kit ran around screaming and throwing up stacks of paperwork. 

“Happy birthday, Kit,” Livvy said, fondly. All at once, she was gone. 

And then there were two. 

“I’m sorry,” Ty blurted. 

Kit tried to calm down. Two years of training with Shadowhunter legends, completely down the drain at the sight of an old friend. Acquaintance, really. They barely knew each other. 

“I’m sorry for coming to your party,” Ty continued, since Kit was still standing there completely silent, like an idiot. “Dru said— well, it doesn’t matter. I should have known.” 

Kit scrambled for something— anything— to say. What could he say to Ty Blackthorn? Two years of fantasying about this scenario, and now his mind was utterly blank. Ty was standing perfectly straight, perfectly beautiful, looking right. At. Him. _SAY SOMETHING,_ Kit internally screamed, _say anything!_

“Is there any chocolate at the party?” 

Ty’s eyebrows shot up, “Um. . . yes.” 

“Good, good.” Kit let his head drop, in a poor, sad attempt to hide his face, which was mostly definitely a mortifying shade of red. Kit thought that being speechless was embarrassing, but now he wished he would’ve gone with his instinct and kept his mouth shut. Maybe if he kept his head down long enough, Ty would walk away. 

“Do you. . . want me to go get you some?” 

Kit’s head snapped up. He couldn’t help it. With that simple question, a new flood of memories crashed down. Ty, sitting outside his door. Ty, bringing him breakfast. Ty, walking by his side down the beach, talking together for hours. 

Kit swallowed, “No. No, and you don’t have to apologize for attending a party that you were invited to.” 

“But I know you don’t want to see me,” Ty looked at the ground. “and I still came anyway. I ruined your birthday party.” 

Kit was seized by a familiar feeling. He quickly corrected Ty, “I want to see you.” 

Ty raised his shoulders, “But you wish you never knew me. Right?” 

Yeah, he’d said that the last time they’d seen each other. Two years ago. Had anything changed? Kit’s stomach dropped. Maybe it had. 

“I said that when I was 15. I was a child. Practically a baby, really.” 

“And then you left, without saying goodbye.” 

“I guess I should be the one apologizing here,” Kit gave a small smile. Ty wasn’t smiling. 

“I’ll have Clary portal me back right away,” Ty said. “I’ll pretend to be sick.” 

“You’re attending the Scholomance, right?” 

Ty blinked, “How did you know that?” 

Kit panicked. “I didn’t know. I mean. Tessa mentioned something about that once, like a rumor or something.” That lie was pathetic, but at least it was better than the truth. Kit had asked for information about Ty. On more than one occasion. 

“Oh.” Ty pulled at the hem of his black sweater, “Yes, I attend the Scholomance. I enjoy it. And. . . how have you been, Kit?” 

“Super great. I’m basically the best student Tessa and Jem have ever had. A totally natural. And I’m learning just as much about infant care as I am about fighting stuff.” 

“Good.” Ty sounded like he really meant it. “Well. I should go.” 

“You really don’t have to. It’s been a long time, and I’m sure you want to see your family, and everyone. You should enjoy the party.” 

Ty spoke carefully, “I don’t want to upset you.” 

“I’m not upset,” Kit folded his arms. 

“But you ran away as fast as you could as soon as you saw me.” 

Kit took a deep breath, “Well, yeah—” 

“And you left Los Angeles. And you never said goodbye.” 

Kit ran a hand through his hair, “Yeah, you mentioned that—” 

“You were my best friend, Kit,” Ty’s fists were tightly clenched, but that didn’t scare Kit as much as his cold tone of voice, “and you left me behind. Like my sister.” 

Kit narrowed his eyes, “You mean after I helped you bring your sister back.” 

“Oh yes, you were very helpful— when you tackled me into the sand—” 

That night had replayed countless times in Kit’s dreams and nightmares. Their fight, his confession. All the things he could’ve done differently, and all the ways it could have ended. Kit glared. He hadn’t wanted to talk about it with the Ty he knew back then, and he certainly didn’t want to talk about it with this new, older, Ty now. In fact, hearing him bring it up at all made him furious. 

“This is exactly why I left.” 

“What?” 

Kit stepped closer, “You say we were best friends, but we weren’t. All you thought about was yourself.” 

Ty looked like he’d been slapped, “I. . . I didn’t know what to do. I was fifteen.” 

“So was I,” Kit held out his arms, “and you were my first friend,” _could you sound anymore pathetic_ , “maybe I should have said goodbye. But I guess I didn’t think you would want to listen.” 

Kit and Ty stood, only a foot apart. Abruptly, Ty reached into the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out an envelope. 

“Kit, I . . . I talked with Dru. And Livvy. And part of the reason I came here tonight was to apologize. I know I’ve made mistakes, and messed up with you.” Ty’s eyes briefly met his, “and that I’m probably messing up this apology now. But I wanted to try. I should have listen to you, back then.” 

Kit lowered his gaze. He wanted to adamantly agree, stick his middle finger in Ty’s perfect face, and then catch an Uber to London. But a quieter, less petty, part of Kit wanted to rush forward and wrap Ty in a hug. He wanted to shout ‘I forgive you’ from the rooftops, and make everything go back to the way that it was before. Sherlock and Watson. Partners. 

But Ty was apologizing for his old actions. He wasn’t asking for a partner. He wasn’t asking for Kit. By now, they both knew he wasn’t Watson material. They stood in silence for a moment, before Ty held out the envelope. 

“I brought you a birthday present. Sorry I missed your last one.” 

Kit took the envelope. It was silver. He ripped it open and pulled out the card inside. 

It was a piece of white construction paper folded in half, with a drawing of the beach on the front in crayon. Above the blue scribbles of ocean, there was a yellow sun, a sand castle, several shells, and either a rainbow disco ball or a beach ball. In thick black crayon it read ‘Happy Birth’ and then in very skinny letters ‘day’, since whoever had written it had accounted for spacing. 

“I thought about asking Julian to paint something,” Ty looked at the ground, “But Tavvy wanted to bring you a gift and I figured we could combine ours.” 

“Is that supposed to be a beach ball?” 

“No, um. Tavvy said it was a rainbow pizza.” Ty looked a little embarrassed, “But, look, if you don’t like it, it’s okay. I won’t tell him if you don’t want—” 

“Back off, I’m gonna keep it forever,” Kit tightened his grip on the card, as the tension in Ty’s shoulders seemed to loosen. 

“Good, good, “he started playing with the hem of his sweater, “There’s more inside.” 

Kit opened the card carefully. Taped to the inside was a hotel room key. 

“I’m working on a case this week for the Scholomance. It might end up taking more than one week, based on our progress so far. We’re staying at a hotel in London—” 

“The Bailey Hotel,” Kit read the name printed across the key. 

“Yes. You don’t have to talk to me, and I would understand if you’re still angry. You don’t have to use this. But, I wanted you to have the extra key to my room. In case you wanted to stop by.” 

Kit blushed. He wanted to be mad at Ty, and really, he had every right to be. Ty lead him on, and now here he was, giving him _a key to his room._ Kit knew that he wasn’t doing this to be cruel, he probably forgot all about Kit’s pathetic confession. Half the students at the Scholomance had probably confessed their undying love for Ty this semester. Ty was giving him a peace offering. This hotel room key was his olive branch. 

“I want to be your friend, Kit.” Ty’s bright eyes met Kit’s. “If you’ll have me.” 

Kit had grown stronger, but he certainly wasn’t strong enough to resist that. Ty would never see him as a romantic partner. But he wanted Ty to be in his life, in any capacity. Friend sounded alright by him. 

“There’s this one bookstore, pretty close to Bailey actually. Maybe we could go there together.” 

Ty’s face broke into a smile. Kit felt himself smiling back, “I’d really like that.” 

“I found them! I found them!” Tavvy’s voice rang from a few feet away. 

“Finally, jeez, why is this place so big?” Dru shouted from not too far behind. 

Kit jumped away from Ty. Ty watched in confusion, which Kit totally understood. He didn’t exactly know why he did that either. 

“Uh, we should get back to my house,” Kit said, trying to organize his thoughts. 

Dru, Tavvy, Emma, and Julian burst into the clearing. 

“Kit, it’s good to see you,” Emma said, only slightly awkward, “Though maybe we should have texted first.” 

“If we had your number,” Dru muttered. 

“Uh, hey, Blackthorns,” Kit said, internally cringing at the false cheerfulness. God, this was so awkward, “And hey, Emma.” 

“Why did you run away from your party?” Tavvy asked. 

“Tavvy,” Julian reprimanded. 

“I thought I saw a Mantid demon, and I ran away from my party so I could go heroically kill it,” Kit said. Tavvy didn’t look entirely convinced, which meant that Dru, Julian, and Emma were definitely not. “Turns out, it was just a really big praying mantis.” 

“It’s always good to investigate,” Julian said, kindly playing along. “I’m glad we finally found you two.” 

“You have so many cows in your backyard,” Tavvy told Kit, obviously impressed. Kit smiled. 

“Later I could show you our chickens—” 

“Oh, I found the chickens,” Tavvy said, with a slightly devious edge. Kit glanced up at Julian, but he didn’t seem concerned, so he saw no reason to be. Ty shoved his hands into his pockets, and Kit realized that February in England might be a little colder than the Blackthorn family was used to. 

“Let’s head back. I’m— there’s no demon, so there’s no reason to be out here.” 

“Well, if you want to take a walk— or maybe give Tavvy a grand tour. There’s no need to rush back.” Julian said, offering Kit an easy way out. 

“Unless you want to try the chocolate fountain before Mark eats it all,” Emma added. 

“Chocolate fountain?” Kit put a hand on his chest, “I must return at once. There’s no time to lose. And—” Kit faltered, slightly, “—uh. It’s good to see you guys, too.” 

Was that good? Was that an adequate thing to say to the group of people who invited you into their home, who broke down your preexisting bias about Shadowhunters, who where there for you when your whole life fell apart? The group of people you haven’t seen in two years? Writing letters to Emma was so much easier than seeing her face to face. But then he saw Emma and Julian smile at him, and he was suddenly glad that this wasn’t a conversation had on paper. No matter how much awkward tension he had to endure. 

Dru turned around and started stomping back to the house. Kit winced. He was definitely going to have to fix that. 

The rest followed behind her, with Tavvy doing most of the talking. He had even more energy as a nine year old than Kit could’ve imagined. Maybe he’d just been spending too much time with Liam, who was pretty mellow when he wasn’t crying or throwing food across the kitchen. 

And if Kit glanced back at Ty a little too frequently, Tavvy certainly didn’t notice. Hopefully Emma and Julian didn’t either. 

-

When they walked through the front door, they were greeted with complete chaos. 

Max was running around with several balloons tied around his waist. Clary was underneath the snack table, pulling the plug of one of the chocolate fountains— which was spewing melted chocolate like a volcano. Mark, holding a tray of strawberries, watched the fountain with a guilty expression, while Jace struggled to stuff wads of paper towels into the fountain to stop the spray. 

Magnus and Ragnor were arguing about monkeys, Alec and Isabelle were pushing the couch toward the bookshelf so they could be tall enough to reach Rafe, who was giggling in a crouched position on top. Simon stood nearby, calmly talking to Rafe and making sure he didn’t make any sudden movements. Christina was scrapping a babysized handful of chocolate cake off the wall, while Jem held Liam and Tessa took a wet wipe to his chocolate covered hands. 

Helen and Aline were standing by the cake, deciding whether or not they should blow out the already lit candles that were creating several pools of wax. Diego was shirtless, but he held his blue buttonup in his hands and scrubbed it vigorously with a wet paper towel. It had been blasted by chocolate from the fountain’s initial eruption. Jaime sat on the rocking chair next to his brother, calmly eating a slice of chocolate cake and ignoring an identical stain across his chest. 

“I unplugged it!” Clary shouted. 

“It’s still going!” Jace informed her, slightly panicked because he’d officially run out of paper towels. He looked from the cardboard tube in his hand, to the fountain that continued to splatter the celling. 

“I think I can fix this,” Mark set down the plate of strawberries and pushed Jace aside. Clary crawled back out and stood just in time to watch Mark push the chocolate fountain over. Clary gasped and Jace raised an eyebrow as melted chocolate poured onto the snacktable and onto the floor. 

“Okay, to Mark’s credit, he did stop the splattering,” Emma said, putting an arm around Julian. Julian pinched the bridge of his nose. 

Max and Rafe, finally safe on the ground, ran up to Tavvy. 

“Wanna see how many balloons it takes for me to fly?” Max asked. 

“I bet it’s impossible,” said Rafe. 

“Tavvy thinks it’s possible— right, Tavvy?” 

Tavvy looked between his friends and grinned, “I bet I could fly with twenty balloons.” 

“Not if I fly first!” Max laughed and ran toward more balloons. Tavvy raced after him, with Rafe close behind loudly complaining. 

Julian went straight for the kitchen to find something to clean the newly formed chocolate lake with, while Emma followed after Tavvy to make sure that no child actually attempted flight. Dru immediately stole a bit of frosting from Jaime’s slice of cake, and Ty, who at some point slipped his headphones on, wandered toward the kitchen to theoretically help Julian. 

Kit joined Tessa, Jem, and Liam. They looked relieved to see him. 

“Kit, we need to apologize—” Tessa began. 

“There’s no need,” Kit said quickly. “At first, I freaked out. But then I talked to everyone, and I talked to Ty,” he saw Jem and Tessa share a glance but he chose to ignore it. They were always sharing glances, like a secret language, and really he couldn’t be bothered to decode every little look between them. “And now I’m glad that everyone is here. I mean, seriously—” 

Kit glanced around the room. Diego was now trying to clean Jaime’s shirt, and Dru laughed at Jaime’s obvious embarrassment. Magnus and Alec were untying the balloons from Max, while Rafe bounced on the couch with a smug smile. Emma and Clary were working together to carry the extremely heavy, busted chocolate fountain outside, while Jace, Mark, and Julian tried to clean up the chocolate disaster area. Ragnor and Simon dipped strawberries into the remaining chocolate fountain. Isabelle and Christina continued cutting the cake and putting the slices on paper plates, while Helen quickly tried to remove all the wax and Aline stuffed a piece of cake with candles. That slice was probably meant for him. Emma gently corralled Tavy toward the cake. 

Ty came out of the kitchen, holding dishwashing detergent, and setting his determined gaze on the chocolate stained carpet. 

“— This is the best party ever,” Kit said, with absolute certainty.


End file.
